#5 Iowa Hawkeyes (9-3)
Its difficult for me to write about the Hawks considering I still have partial wood from watching Adam Decker STUFF Shon Greene to win at Spartan Stadium last year. That match up with the Hawks ranks among my Top 10 MSU wins of all time. That being said, this is NOT 2008, and the Hawks have got a better squad than last year..with out Greene. Some may disagree, but I think Captain Kirk has all the tools to move up into the upper echelon of the 10. Iowa demonstrated sound football by losing a number of VERY close games last year and building impressive victories, including pinning a L on the Nittany Lions in the definitive trap game at Iowa last fall. Im giving the Iowa defense all the credit WAY ahead of time and taking a HUGE GAMBLE in saying that the Hawks will go 9-3. Call it instinct and 9 good players returning on defense for the Hawks. All is not well in Hawkeye land and here's why.
1)Jayme Murphy's football career is over after back surgery.
2)Jewel Hampton, the best returning running back, will miss the entire season
due to knee surgery.
The running game will present a problem for the Hawks and a lack of a running game will make Rick Stanzi's year a bust. However, if the Hawks have really turned the corner, they will find ways to win all the close ones from last year. Senior leadership is a given and with the injuries being public knowledge now, I think Iowa will sneak up on more than one team this year. This campaign will also define the true coaching strength and weakness of Captain Kirk. Can he make more out of less? Can the Hawks muster the stamina to make DEFENSE their hallmark and keep the scores low enough for Ricki to be effective? We shall see. I like the Hawks, and I like playing the Hawks, even if the fans at Kinnick are amongst the rudest and most inbred in the 10. Iowa's win over LSU some years ago clearly demonstrates that Hawkeye will to find a way that makes them tops on the PESKY TEAM list second only to The Great Satan, the ultimate in spoiler teams. I see wins over Northern Iowa ( a VERY good team if you didn't know ) ,Iowa State, Arizona ( purely because I despise the PAC-10 ), Arkansas State, Michigan, Indiana, Northwestern, Minnesota and the long shot of the year, a win in the Shoe. Yes you heard it here first, Iowa will win at Ohio Stadium giving Ohio State one of its two conference losses.
The Hawks have NO HOPE of winning at PennState, Michigan State ( a 7pm game ), and Wisconsin. These will not happen. As long as PennState and Wisco hold up their end of the deal.
If Iowa doesn't muster the balls to make my predictions come true, merely put Northwestern in their place and life will once again show that my football knowledge is , well, crap. Either way, its all relative to your station in life. Mine is green and white.
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